Philippe Verdier is a household name in France, known for his nightly weather forecasts on government television broadcaster France 2. That gig ended abruptly on Monday, when he released a promotional video for his new book. The U.K. Telegraph explains:

Climat Investigation (Climate Investigation) [claims] that leading climatologists and political leaders have “taken the world hostage” with misleading data.

In a promotional video, Mr Verdier said: “Every night I address five million French people to talk to you about the wind, the clouds and the sun. And yet there is something important, very important that I haven’t been able to tell you, because it’s neither the time nor the place to do so.”

He added: “We are hostage to a planetary scandal over climate change – a war machine whose aim is to keep us in fear.”

His outspoken views led France 2 to take him off the air starting this Monday. "I received a letter telling me not to come. I'm in shock," he told RTL radio. "This is a direct extension of what I say in my book, namely that any contrary views must be eliminated."

Verdier is noticing the very same fudging of data and failure of models’ forecasts that has been the basis for many climate skeptics:

He specifically challenges the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, saying they “blatantly erased” data that went against their overall conclusions, and casts doubt on the accuracy of their climate models.

The IPCC has said that temperatures could rise by up to 4.8°C if no action is taken to reduce carbon emissions.

Mr Verdier writes: “We are undoubtedly on a plateau in terms of warming and the cyclical variability of the climate doesn’t not allow us to envisage if the natural rhythm will tomorrow lead us towards a fall, a stagnation or a rise (in temperature).”

Verdier has not been fired, only suspended. Guess where the pressure for firing comes from:

According to L’Express magazine, unions at France Television called for Mr Verdier to be fired, but that Delphine Ernotte, the broadcaster’s chief executive, initially said he should be allowed to stay “in the name of freedom of expression”.

Climate alarmists are behaving as if they have something to cover up. Perhaps Verdier’s fame and the French tradition of embracing persecuted dissenters (Je suis Charlie”) will enable the dispute to be openly discussed. Clearly the French government that is hosting the climate conference would prefer to have the public shut up and accept as gospel the proclamations of the assembled governments that their powers must be vastly increased to combat a problem that has been on “pause” for 17 years.

The only parallels to this dispute that come to mind are the Muslims’ absolute prohibition of any questioning of Mohammed and the historical persecution of religious dissidents in the Roman Catholic church and some Protestant denominations. There are probably similar events in the histories of other major religions, but I am not as familiar with them. This makes it clear that global warming is a theological, not a scientific dispute.

Hat tip: John McMahon

Philippe Verdier is a household name in France, known for his nightly weather forecasts on government television broadcaster France 2. That gig ended abruptly on Monday, when he released a promotional video for his new book. The U.K. Telegraph explains:

Climat Investigation (Climate Investigation) [claims] that leading climatologists and political leaders have “taken the world hostage” with misleading data.

In a promotional video, Mr Verdier said: “Every night I address five million French people to talk to you about the wind, the clouds and the sun. And yet there is something important, very important that I haven’t been able to tell you, because it’s neither the time nor the place to do so.”

He added: “We are hostage to a planetary scandal over climate change – a war machine whose aim is to keep us in fear.”

His outspoken views led France 2 to take him off the air starting this Monday. "I received a letter telling me not to come. I'm in shock," he told RTL radio. "This is a direct extension of what I say in my book, namely that any contrary views must be eliminated."

Verdier is noticing the very same fudging of data and failure of models’ forecasts that has been the basis for many climate skeptics:

He specifically challenges the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, saying they “blatantly erased” data that went against their overall conclusions, and casts doubt on the accuracy of their climate models.

The IPCC has said that temperatures could rise by up to 4.8°C if no action is taken to reduce carbon emissions.

Mr Verdier writes: “We are undoubtedly on a plateau in terms of warming and the cyclical variability of the climate doesn’t not allow us to envisage if the natural rhythm will tomorrow lead us towards a fall, a stagnation or a rise (in temperature).”

Verdier has not been fired, only suspended. Guess where the pressure for firing comes from:

According to L’Express magazine, unions at France Television called for Mr Verdier to be fired, but that Delphine Ernotte, the broadcaster’s chief executive, initially said he should be allowed to stay “in the name of freedom of expression”.

Climate alarmists are behaving as if they have something to cover up. Perhaps Verdier’s fame and the French tradition of embracing persecuted dissenters (Je suis Charlie”) will enable the dispute to be openly discussed. Clearly the French government that is hosting the climate conference would prefer to have the public shut up and accept as gospel the proclamations of the assembled governments that their powers must be vastly increased to combat a problem that has been on “pause” for 17 years.

The only parallels to this dispute that come to mind are the Muslims’ absolute prohibition of any questioning of Mohammed and the historical persecution of religious dissidents in the Roman Catholic church and some Protestant denominations. There are probably similar events in the histories of other major religions, but I am not as familiar with them. This makes it clear that global warming is a theological, not a scientific dispute.